SM SMOTY HALL OF FAME

LOOKING BACK ON 33 YEARS OF PEOPLE POWER!

Recounting 33 of Australia’s favourite modified cars, all chosen by you

SINCE it was launched in 1988, Street Machine of the Year has been the numberone award for modified cars in this country. The prize money has always been healthy, but the bigger reward is the kudos. With SMOTY being a reader-voted award, the size of one’s cheque book is irrelevant. The car that best captures the imagination of the general public wins — end of story. Holdens have dominated the winners list with 19 cars (one of which had two consecutive wins), followed by nine Fords, four Chevs and one Chrysler. Beyond that, the SMOTY Hall of Fame is incredibly varied. We’ve had winners that were pure show cars, others that were streeters. A dedicated drag car has taken it out, and last year’s winner mixed mini-trucking and pro touring vibes.

If you were to look for a trend, it might be a decline in winners with hardware sticking out the bonnet. Aside from AGROXA in 2017, we haven’t had a winner with a protruding blower since Angela Dow’s Torana in 2009. Even so, less than half of the overall winners have run big blowers, tunnel rams or injector stacks, putting paid to the old adage that one has to be blown to be known.

This year’s group of finalists is as strong as any, and it will be fascinating to see how the voting pans out. But for now, let’s look back at all of our previous winners and, where possible, check in on the cars and their owners today.